BULLS NOTES.

Artest may be headed for surgery

Forward to meet with specialist

October 06, 2001|By K.C. Johnson, Tribune staff reporter.

The ongoing saga surrounding Ron Artest's injured right ring finger took another turn Friday when the Bulls' third-year forward sat out practice and made plans to see a hand specialist next week in New York.

Artest was injured when he slammed his finger into a box during a jumping drill in mid-August. Earlier this week Artest said he was considering surgery, but then rebuffed management's claims that he would need it.

But the knuckle, which is severely swollen and misshapen, kept getting hit in practice, forcing Artest's change of heart.

Artest will see Dr. Michelle Carlson, who performed surgery on Artest's left thumb when he played at St. John's, on Monday. If Carlson determines surgery is necessary, it will follow as early as Tuesday and a two-month rehabilitation stint would be needed.

"We wanted to wait and see how it felt after four or five days of practice and then re-evaluate it," Bulls general manager Jerry Krause said. "[Surgery is] a strong possibility."

Losing Artest would rob the Bulls of their best perimeter defender, although his role was expected to be reduced with the off-season addition of Eddie Robinson.

Teams can't force players to have surgery. Does Artest have any regrets about not taking care of the injury earlier?

"Yeah, I do," he said. "I should've taken care of it when it first happened. But I was playing good. I was going down to Hoops The Gym and even Michael Jordan was making fun of my finger, saying I was shooting knuckleballs. But I was still making my shot.

"So I just kept playing through it. I can shoot and dribble and everything. But once it gets hit, it's over."

At this point, management is expecting and preparing for Artest to have surgery. And coach Tim Floyd warns that a two-month absence is a generous estimate.

"We're going to have an additional time period after that where he's learning what we're doing," Floyd said. "I don't think he can learn just through observation because there are too many nuances."More bad news on the injury front came when first-round pick Tyson Chandler sprained his right ankle. Chandler is expected to miss three to five days.

"It's frustrating any time you get set back," Chandler said. "But I'll look at the positives. I can understand the plays and go over them in my head. When I come back, I'll be prepared."

Ticket sale: Tickets for every Bulls home game will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Saturday at the United Center, Ticketmaster outlets, by calling 1-800-4NBA-TIX, or online at www.bulls.com. There will be a limit of four tickets per person for the Washington Wizards and L.A. Lakers games.